One hundred and sixty three heart failure patients were evaluated by clinical examination, echocardiography, exercise test and measurement of blood BNP. Growth hormone and IGF-1 plasma levels were determined in each patient. The same biological measurements were performed in a group of 148 healthy controls. Comparisons were performed between groups for Growth hormone plasma level, IGF-1 plasma level and Growth hormone/IGF-1 index. A correlation between the severity of heart failure and the different biological parameters was searched.